


To Set the Record Straight

by TheColorBlue



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Interviews for the Radiant Garden Tribune, Multiplicity/Plurality, Rescue Aid Society, and by rocks I mean marshmallows, hot chocolate on the rocks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-13
Updated: 2012-01-13
Packaged: 2017-10-29 10:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/319020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheColorBlue/pseuds/TheColorBlue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Roxas, Ventus, and I have been talking, and we want it to be clear that none of us are going away. I mean, well, obviously, I’ve been around since we got here to Hollow Bastion, the first time around, but I think it’s important because Roxas still has so much anger about the entire situation, and it’s been <i>years</i>, and besides, we’re not really the only ones."</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Set the Record Straight

**Author's Note:**

> Playing it fast and loose (very loose) with canon; because I don't really care for the Kingdom Hearts storyline beginning with Chain of Memories; and because it doesn't really matter for the overall theme of the story.

Tabitha Small was a journalist associated with the Radiant Garden chapter of the Rescue Aid Society. After Sora returned from the mission to The Outback with Ms. Bianca and Bernard, she was assigned to interview the Keyblade Master on his most recent going-ons and exploits; the article would be published in the Radiant Garden Tribune. It wouldn’t just be about his adventures either; there’d been rumors and gossip lately, about the esteemed Keyblade Master exhibiting…shall we say, strange behavior, and Sora had said, “all right, forget that, we’ll be sitting down, we’ll tell you the facts, and maybe having the words down in print will make everyone feel better about what’s been going on.”

They met outside of the Clair de Lune, and while the Keyblade Master dropped extra marshmallows into his hot chocolate, Tabitha nursed her Earl Gray. She was sitting in a dollhouse-sized chair at a dollhouse-sized table on top of a human-sized table; she tapped her pen against her notepad once, her chin tilted a little to one side while thinking, and then she set the pen down against her lap, waiting for the Keyblade Master to finish fussing with his hot chocolate.

The Keyblade Master was twenty-five. He wore his blonde-brown hair shorter these days than in his adolescence; he was dressed comfortable in dark blue jeans and a dark red shirt, with some articles of silver jewelry around his neck: strings of silver chains and a crown pendent and little x’s lining up and down. His face was like a little boy’s. He said, “I know what you’re thinking. I try to tell everyone about the present situation, but sometimes it’s hard to explain, and weird stories seem to spread anyway, so I guess we’re really here to set the record straight.”

He guzzled down hot chocolate like a little kid, then set down the cup and said, “Roxas, Ventus, and I have been talking, and we want it to be clear that none of us are going away. I mean, well, obviously, I’ve been around since we got here to Hollow Bastion, the first time around, but I think it’s important because Roxas still has so much anger about the entire situation, and it’s been _years_ , and besides, we’re not really the only ones. I don’t know what it used to be like, before our time, but Ventus thinks it’s always been like this. Even way before King Ansem started doing strange things with the Darkness, even way before we had Nobodies banding together like Organization 13. Maybe it’s always been like this, and even today there’s other people like us. Cloud and Tifa said it was okay if we mentioned them, since Tifa would like to start coming out more often as herself nowadays, even after rejoining Cloud as his light. But you know, people like that, because sometimes we’ll have people who struggle with dark entities who really, umm, should be kept under lock and key—Riku could tell you all about that, and Cloud and Tifa too actually—but sometimes it’s okay to have a couple of different people sharing the same body, whatever their hearts or souls or whatever are made up of. _It’s okay_.”

The Keyblade Master paused for breath. He watched Tabitha scribble furiously into her notebook, trying to keep up. “Sorry,” he said, sheepishly, and Tabitha just looked up and smiled with a noise that may have sounded, to many other adults, like meaningless squeaking, but to the young at heart, it was quite clearly the phrase, _“No problem, you can keep going now.”_

“Okay,” said Sora.

Then,

“It’s Roxas now,” Roxas said, leaning back. He crossed his arms over his chest, as though to keep warm, although the weather was quite fine that day. “I don’t like to talk much to the press, usually, but the thing is. I’ll be up front, everybody was telling me that I shouldn’t exist. Everybody. Except, in the end, and ironically maybe, Sora, but as far as Organization 13 and as far…as far as DiZ, in the end, the story I was getting was that I needed to join back up with Sora, and then I needed to go away so that Sora could do his hero thing. Funny, because I didn’t _go away_. All of that…all of that bullshit, and I want to go on record for calling it what it is. _Bullshit_.”

The Keyblade Master’s manner changed a little, as he sat forward again, a sort of earnest and laughing air about him, “Actually, I think that’s what we all have in common. Roxas was willing to sacrifice himself for the ‘greater good.’ We all would have done the same. He’s mumbling things at me right now, denying it, but it’s true. Roxas is really a first class kind of guy. But the funny thing is, none of us really needed to sacrifice our… our sense of self for anyone else. I’m no dictator, believe me, I couldn’t order anyone around against their will, it would hurt me…And when it comes down to the three of use, we’re better off as a team. We all deserve that chance, I think. We all deserve it.”

He peered into his cup, made a thoughtful face, and then tossed the rest back like downing a shot of alcohol. After catching the attention of the waitress, he asked with a wink, “Could I have another glass of hot chocolate on the rocks? And by rocks, I mean marshmallows. The big kind. Multi-colored. Thanks~”

He looked over at Tabitha, and then said, “Hello, I’m Ventus.” He offered his hand, and she took his finger in both paws and shook it firmly. He sat with his elbows on the table, smiling gently. “I think, technically I’m older by far than any of the rest of them, but I get tired easily these days. At least, more easily than my two compatriots. I guess I’m just turning into an _old man_ …hahh, okay, actually Sora is in here complaining that we’re all getting too old these days, we can’t quite do _everything_ that we did as kids, although I have to admit there’s still a lot we can do. This body’s in fair good shape.”

Tabitha complimented him on the quality of his arm muscles. Ventus laughed, “Well, thank you Miss.”

He listened to her speak some more. “What are we doing these days? Ah, well, with the worlds quieter these days—and for that, I am truly thankful, you have no idea—but these days I guess we’re technically in the employ of King Mickey. We do some star-charting while traveling via gummi, along with Riku and Kairi, and our trusty engineers Chip and Dale. Donald’s settled down with kids, these days. Even Goofy is getting married, which is great. He’s a good fellow, that Goofy. You know, it’s been over ten years since Sora first set out with them on his grand adventures. Amazing, really. Mostly though—the way I think of it, we’re more like plumbers than knights, these days. If there’s a minor problem spotted in one of the worlds, we go fix it. Which sounds terrible, but it’s a living, and we still have…hmm, I’d say we still have our fair share of excitement, even so.” He smiled. “Did Ms. Bianca and Bernard tell you about how we all worked together to save a giant golden eagle in The Outback? I’ll let Sora tell the story, he’s itching to go into another good yarn, as they say, but it was wonderful talking to you Ms. Small, really wonderful.”

A second mug of hot chocolate was delivered to the table, studded full of multi-colored marshmallows like pillows in a chocolate sea.

“You’ll tell it like it is, won’t you Ms. Small?” Sora asked, raising his mug with a cheery smile, toasting her. “It’s part of that Rescue Aid Society pledge, isn’t it? To help anyone in need? And, maybe it’s just me getting _old_ , but I really believe—there’s more than one way to save the world.”

Ms. Small raised her glass as well in toast.

And then Sora promptly burned his mouth trying to drink hot chocolate before it had properly cooled. He grabbed for the ice chips floating in his water glass.

“You can, ahh, leave that part out of your feature,” Sora said, his words partially muffled by the ice pressed to his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Kairi and Namine are not mentioned because, as I imagine it, Namine is the kind of shy and reticent person who wouldn't want to be in the public eye anyway.
> 
> The Rescue Aid Society pledge-song can be heard [here](http://youtu.be/VN1W5iq4724).


End file.
